That's the good news.  Las Vegas, New Hampshire and Lansing could not muster a hit with a runner in scoring position but one of them still managed to get a win on a 1-3 night for the affiliates.  Let's go down to Junior's Farm, shall we?

And to be honest with you, when the farm goes 0-3, I'm just not all that motivated to be clever.

The 51s romped while the Fisher Cats were one-hit by a top prospect in a 2-1 day for the affiliates.

I have never been to Las Vegas but I hear people walk the strip to see the sights.  On Saturday there was a lot of walking off the strip, Las Vegas hitters walked ten times.  They walked three times in the first, and scored three runs, and they won the game in the tenth with the always exciting four walk inning.  The other three affiliates took the "L".  Mark Rzepczynski pitched OK but not good enough.  BJ Ryan took the loss in Dunedin and Tim Collins gave up some runs.  Lansing were never in it although Kenny Wilson stayed hot.

The top two farm teams combined for 32 runs and two wins. 'Nuff said. Oh, and can you remember a time when three separate Jays farm hands had five hits a piece in one night?

Las Vegas lost despite a good start from Brad Mills but the other three affiliates won.  Al Quintana hit a grand slam for the Fisher Cats, Tim Collins got the win for the D-Jays to outshine Casey Janssen and BJ Ryan, and Henderson Alvarez pitched a complete game to lead the Lugnuts.  Darin Mastroianni got things started and finished for Dunedin.

Of all the reasons why the AAA club's move to Las Vegas was bad for the organization, the most egregious is the fact that 10:05 start times really impact the writing of a minor league recap.  I don't know if the Jays considered these ramifications, but I'd like to think they'll right this wrong as soon as possible.

Oh, right:  the games.  The affiliates went 2-3.

The three affiliates in action all had early leads and they blew them.  Only one of them managed to get in the win column.  Still, there was one great start turned in and a number of fine offensive performances.

The affiliates went 2-2 on the evening, in what I believe to be the most successful Monday Minor League Update so far this year.

Three weeks into the minor league season and I was already resigned to writing about four losses and exactly no intriguing performances.  But the first Sunday in May threw that theory for a complete loop with three wins and the unexpected return of a legend.

April was not a kind month to the Jays affiliates.  The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are the only affiliate with a winning record and several of the Jays top prospects are off to slow starts.  Because the minor leagues start their season later than the major leagues most affiliates have played around twenty games, some of those in very cold weather, so it is not time to panic, yet.  But May is an important month to set the tone for those June promotions.  Marc Hulet and I look at April in the minor leagues.  All numbers are from April.

It hasn't been a great start to the season for the minor league affiliates but Saturday was a day to take some comfort and hope. The lower three affiliates each scored in the double figures and there were some good pitching performances.  Hopefully the bats will wake up and get the pitching to support them.

The Dunedin pitching staff threw a one-hitter but the one hit was a home run.

Things were not overly fun on Friday night with the affiliates compiling a 1-4 record. Pitching continues to be an area of disappointment - but some of the bigger-named hitting prospects need to step things up a notch too.

If any members of the Las Vegas pitching staff followed the afternoon game in Kansas City they were likely well aware that at least one spot would be opening up on the big league roster after a second poor start in a row by Brian Burres. If they checked the MLB website within a couple of hours they would have seen not only confirmation, but also that Brian Bullington was demoted and a second spot had opened up. The question was whether Fabio Castro would be able to rise to the occasion. Even without the intrigue of who will get the promotion it was an exciting night on the farm anyway, as all three games were decided by one run and two went into extra innings.

There was a shutout in Double-A, but that wasn’t the best pitching performance of the night. There were only three contests last night, as Las Vegas had the night off, and the affiliates won two of them. Dunedin lost a one-run game as the heart of their lineup struggled at the plate. And Brian Dopirak, among others, continues to hit.